Alabama Shakes' Blues-Funk Explosion

For their festival-closing performance Sunday evening, Alabama Shakes delivered a no-nonsense collection of highlights from their two records. While Patti Smith had used her headlining slot the night before largely to shine the spotlight on the music of her contemporaries and influences, the Shakes used the occasion to illustrate how far the band has progressed since their last appearance at the festival four years earlier. This year's performance felt like a triumphant victory lap, as the group ran through Sound & Color hits like "Gimme All Your Love" and "Don't Wanna Fight" as well as "Joe," a Shakes B side soul ballad that provided a mid-set highlight, with Brittany Howard expounding on love, fame and lost opportunities. During their electrifying closing set, complete with a festival finale of Bob Seger's "Night Moves" featuring members of Dawes, the Shakes proved yet why they're one of the country's biggest, and best, mainstream rock bands.